


Clothes Have No Gender

by kristsune



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Asexual Jonathan Sims, GNC Jon, M/M, Pre-Slash, and doesnt know what to do when that doesn't happen, gender non-conforming, jon always expects the worst, long hair jon rights, mention of past jon/georgie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 21:29:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21152492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristsune/pseuds/kristsune
Summary: Jon wears a skirt to the Institute for the first time, and gets reactions he hadn't expected.





	Clothes Have No Gender

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Starofwinter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/gifts).

> I wrote this for [Jesse's](https://thebisexualmandalorian.tumblr.com/) birthday, which is technically tomorrow, but with a new episode coming out, and everything that follows, they've opted to get it today ^^ This was inspired by all the lovely art of Jon in skirts I've seen on tumblr.

Jon sighed at his reflection in the mirror. There was no avoiding it. He was going to have to wear a skirt today. He had tried on three different pairs of trousers and they all just felt...  _ wrong _ . He’d had feelings like these for a long time, but usually they were lowkey enough he could either ignore them, or assuage them other ways. Most of the time he would just wear more “traditionally feminine” colors - purple was a favorite - or he would do something different with his shoulder length hair rather than just pulling it back off his face. It was usually enough, but sometimes the feeling overwhelmed him, and he needed to take it to another level. 

Years ago he had explained the feeling to Georgie, and they did a deep dive together in gender identity, similar to the one they had done which helped Jon figure out he was asexual. He realized he didn’t feel anything other than male, but he didn’t feel particularly strongly about it either. He just always had this feeling of wanting to look  _ different _ . They finally stumbled on the term gender non conforming, and it struck a chord deep within Jon that he hadn’t realized was there. 

Unfortunately for today, it was a work day. No getting away with just wearing a skirt around his flat. This would be the first time he would be wearing one as the Head Archivist. Now that Jon thought about it, he was pretty sure it would be the first time wearing a skirt to the Institute at all. 

Jon wasn’t ashamed of how he identified, but he also had no idea what the reception would be. He had received… well, not the best reactions in the past. Most of the time it was just odd looks, or whispers behind raised hands. Sometimes it was a comment in passing, but still easy enough to ignore. The one nasty comment he got to his face… well one could say he was called unpleasant for a reason, even if the interaction had left him shaken afterwards. 

But those were all  _ strangers _ ; random people on the streets of London. These were people he  _ knew _ , people he worked with. Jon was aware that he was not terribly in touch with his own feelings, but he knew that receiving a negative reaction to this would… not be a pleasant experience. 

Jon sighed again, there was nothing for it. He would at least go with something professional, and hope that it would be enough. He pulled out one of his nicer ones, an ankle length skirt with a wide waistband and pockets. It had a small neutral colored two tone pattern all over it, not dissimilar from a houndstooth, and it was one of Jon’s favorites because it twirled out perfectly when he spun around. Not that he ever did that… in public.

He paired it with his usual brown oxfords, and a dark purple jumper over a light blue collared shirt. Because he took so long getting dressed, he wouldn’t have any time to do anything other than pull back his hair quickly. He was barely going to make the tube as it was. Jon tried his best to not think about how badly everything could go as soon as he stepped into the Institute. 

\-------

“Morning, Jon! Ohh! I  _ love _ your skirt! Where did you get it?” Sasha greeted him near the entrance of the Institute. 

“Oh - uh. Good morning, Sasha. I, uh - I found it at the Oxfam, over on King’s Road.” And by found, Jon meant he saw it, loved it, bought it, and stuffed it in a bag as fast as he could. The Oxfam in Chelsea was close enough to the Institute that he had been worried someone might have seen him buy it. He also hadn’t been sure of what he had expected from Sasha, but it certainly wasn’t this level of excited enthusiasm. He felt slightly unbalanced, and they weren’t even in the Archives yet. 

“Shame, I would have loved to get one. But it looks fab on you! Excellent choice.” Sasha smiled brightly at him.

“T-thank you.” Jon attempted a smile back, but he wasn’t sure if he was entirely successful. Well, the first interaction at the Institute went better than expected. Jon felt slightly heartened by it, but was still apprehensive as to what the others would have to say.

\-------

“Something’s different about you, boss.” Tim rolled his chair from behind his desk to get a better look. Jon tensed, waiting for the inevitable comment that wasn’t  _ technically _ out of line, but depending on Tim’s inflection could be taken in a multitude of different directions.

Tim tilted his head, “Did you do something different with your hair?” 

“No, Tim. I wear it like this most days.” Jon tried to unclench his teeth while replying, but it wasn’t easy. He felt wound up tight, ready to break at whatever punchline Tim was working towards. 

Tim hummed as he brought his hand to his chin. “New shirt?”

“No. Tim.” If Tim didn’t get on with it soon, Jon was afraid he was going to crack a tooth.

Tim shrugged, “Huh. I give up. What’s different?”

“I’m. Wearing. A. Skirt.” It felt like the words were being pulled forcibly from his throat.

“Oh! Yes! So you are!  _ Very _ nice. It’s a good look for you, boss.” Tim replied with a wink, and rolled back behind his desk like it was nothing. 

Jon felt… untethered. He had been holding so much tension in preparation of Tim’s snide comment that never came, and for it to just,  _ disappear _ . It was… strange. The day was definitely not going as expected. But Tim  _ actually _ giving him a compliment? That didn’t seem backhanded in any way? Jon was feeling so far outside the realm of normal he wasn’t sure he knew how to function. He couldn’t remember if he said thank you to Tim before he went back to his office or not. Hopefully Tim didn’t notice either. Maybe reading a statement would help him feel better. 

\-------

Jon was rifling through his just slightly too tall filing cabinet against the wall when there was a polite knock at his door; which could only be Martin. Not only did Jon recognize the knock, but it must be time for afternoon tea. Martin’s tea schedule was the only reason Jon ever knew what time it was. 

“You can set it on my desk, Martin. I’ll get to it after I locate the file I’m looking for.” Jon hadn’t looked away from what he was doing, but it was oddly quiet. He knew he heard the door open, and usually Martin was going on about one thing or another as soon as he was in the room. 

Jon finally turned from what he was doing to see Martin staring with his mouth slightly open and his eyebrows almost in his hairline. 

Right. The skirt. 

Jon sighed internally, he had almost finally recovered from… whatever Tim’s reaction had made him feel. 

“What is it?” Well, that came out more clipped, and harsh than Jon intended, but if it got Martin back from wherever he currently was, then it was worth it.

“You’re  _ beautiful _ .” Martin’s jaw snapped shut so fast, Jon heard his teeth clack together from across the room. 

“Oh -  _ oh _ , I-I’m sorry. It’s not that you  _ aren’t _ good looking every other day. I mean. W-wait. I’m not looking at you every day like that. Ohhh. Oh no. Okay. I - I’m just - I’m just going to go now.”

Martin was struggling, and his face was turning redder by the second. Jon felt like he should say something to ease Martin’s suffering. Anything to keep himself from thinking about how he felt  _ something _ flutter in his chest at Martin’s accidental admission. Not to mention that there was just something that felt…  _ different _ about Marin’s reaction, that felt very real, and sincere, and anything but superficial, “Thank you, Martin.” 

“R-really, I’ll just - wait, what?” Martin turned back from the door.

Jon took a deep breath, sharing anything personal about himself was not something he did often, “This was… not the easiest decision for me. So, I - I appreciate your… honesty.”

“Oh. Well - uh - you’re welcome? It’s just, it’s not something I expected, but,” Martin took a deep breath, “you really do look lovely, and if you’re comfortable, you  _ should _ wear what makes you happy, whatever that may be.” He was still sporting a decent amount of pink along his cheeks and the tips of his ears, and Jon belated realized, it made his freckles stand out even more. 

Jon actually felt his own cheeks heat up. He didn’t think he had anyone say anything quite so nice, so  _ understanding _ , since before things went south with Georgie. “T-thank you. I… I might just take you up on that. No one has really, responded like this before.” 

“Really? Wait? Have Tim and Sasha seen?” Martin’s squinted suspiciously, like he thought they might have said something mean. 

Jon frowned a little, “Oh - yeah. They have. They were both, uh… nice enough? Sasha complimented my skirt, and Tim… well Tim acted as if he didn’t realize I was wearing a skirt.”

Martin scoffed, with almost a fond smile. “Don’t mind him. He does that when he doesn’t want to let on that he likes something. I’ve heard him use that dozens of times.” 

Jon felt something twist in his chest that he couldn’t quite identify. Two thoughts were pulling at him to be known; Tim  _ truly _ finding Jon attractive, or the possibility of Martin being on the receiving end of Tim’s compliments. 

Rather than think about any of that, Jon figured he would do something out of the ordinary to add to his already unusual day, “W-would you like to stay for tea?” 

“Oh! Y-yeah. I - I’d really like that.” Martin’s soft smile made Jon return one of his own without even realizing it. Jon wasn’t sure the last time he genuinely smiled. 

Jon gestured to the seat and actually pulled his own chair to the side, so he wasn’t half hidden behind his desk. He sat down, crossed his ankles like Georgie taught him, and attempted to start a conversation. Luckily they found a topic they were both interested in - special edition books - that Jon actually found himself relaxing, and forgetting about the tension he had been holding all day. Even while arguing whether classic gothic books or poetry ones were better - which may have become rather more heated than either of them expected - Jon felt…  _ good _ . It had been so long since he experienced anything like this, he almost forgot what it had felt like.   
  
Maybe he would try and take his tea with Martin more often, rather than just waiting until it got just on the edge of too cold before remembering it was there. Martin made it too well to keep doing that. And maybe… maybe the Institute  _ was _ a safe space to be himself in. At least, as long as Martin was there. 

**Author's Note:**

> Jon's skirt can be seen [here](http://www.qaraleather.com/images/cate_2/640/2018-K%C4%B1%C5%9F-Retro-Vintage-Rahat-Art%C4%B1-Boyutu-6XL-5XL-XXXXXL-Y%C3%BCn-Ka%C5%9Fmir-Dalgalar-kafes-Ekose-Kad%C4%B1n-Maxi-Uzun-Etek-Bayan-Etekler-Zc0St9Md5Os2-dop0.jpg)
> 
> Feel free to stop by and say hi on [tumblr!](https://kristsune.tumblr.com/)


End file.
